The U.S. Millennial Skills Gap: Technology and Problem Solving

20% of older adults (aged 55-64) in the U.S. are proficient at using technology and problem solving, the highest rate in the world. In other words, older workers in the U.S. are more technologically savvy and skilled than their peers around the world.. This is likely due in part to better and broader access to technology earlier on in recent U.S. history and the fact that the education system in the U.S. was among the best in the world when those adults were in school.

However…

Today, only 40% of younger adults (aged 25-34) in the U.S. are proficient in the use of technology for problem solving, well below average and far behind young adults in top performing countries. This suggests that while older U.S. workers have been well equipped to compete in a globalized labor market, the country’s younger workers, those who will constitute the workforce of tomorrow, lag behind their global peers.

In fact…

The U.S. has the smallest increase in technology and problem solving skills between older adults and younger adults in the world. Meanwhile, top performers (highlighted in green above) like Finland, Korea and Japan have made impressive gains between generations, laying the groundwork for a stronger, more highly skilled workforce of the future.

In the 21st century skills race, the U.S. is lagging behind while others surge ahead.